“Movember” Raises Funds and Facial Hair

“Students are to be clean-shaven at all times.” Those words are from page 21 of the Northwood School Student Handbook under “Dress Code and Appearance.” Normally the school is strict about enforcing this rule, but students are allowed to break it in November.

November is an important month at Northwood School, and not just because that’s the month Northwood students celebrate Thanksgiving as one big family. Another event that occurs is No Shave November, also known as “Movember,” when students grow out their facial hair in any way. They could grow a goatee or a beard or a mustache. Movember is a national movement intended to raise money for men’s health issues, but at Northwood this year the students have decided to donate all funds raised to a local Lake Placid family with a teenager battling Hodgkin lymphoma (Hodgkin disease), a cancer affecting the immune system that starts in white blood cells.

Sophomore Tommy Bannister is one of the many students participating in Movember. He said, “It’s for a great cause. I’m happy to help support the family in Lake Placid, and I can grow the best facial hair.”

Matt Shanklin ’19

There’s been some friendly competition between the boys about who can grow the best facial hair. Junior Matt Shanklin said “I’ve tried everything to make mine look better in order to compete with [senior] Sam DiBitetto and have a better mustache then him. I tried bleaching it and using Just For Men’s hair growth to make it look better.”

Overall Movember is something that Northwood does to help the community. Many students come together to support the cause and help a family battling cancer. Students here take the simple step of donating money to make make a difference.